In the US, every aspect of life is rigidly compartmentalized. There, the notion "there is a time and place for everything" is religiously followed in the US. Anything that transgresses these rigid compartmentalizations is deemed weird and inappropriate, or even condemned. There is little room for spontaneity, wildness, or having a free flowing nature. Hence, the question of how "free" America really is becomes an issue.

In fact, unknown to most Americans, there are many ways that the US is less free than other countries. Take the following examples.

- If you festively dance out on public streets, even in your own neighborhood, you are seen as a weird freak. But such would be normal and encouraged in Latin America.
- If you lie nude on a public beach, it is illegal and you could be arrested. But doing so is normal and nice in France, for instance.
- If you walk on the street drinking a bottle of beer, that is illegal and you will be cited if caught by law enforcement. But such is legal and allowed in most countries.
- If you flirt or "hit on" with female coworkers in work environments, you are subject to disciplinary action or dismissal. There is a taboo against dating coworkers in US workplace environments for some reason, which isnâ€™t so in the rest of the world, where in fact it is usually encouraged.
- If you try to meet, approach, or "pick up" new girls in public, it is considered inappropriate and out of line unless you are in a bar or nightclub setting. But in most countries of the world, such a normal male behavior is not a vilified crime, and in fact the females are flattered and amused by such behavior.
- In the US, you don't have the freedom to see a doctor without insurance, whereas in other countries you do, as health care is affordable or free.
- In many states of the US, hitchhiking is illegal, which is very ridiculous. I don't know of any other country where that is so, probably few if any. (Perhaps its the US's way of penalizing those who refuse to be corporate drones?)
- In the US, you can't go into the wildnerness or countryside and build a home without buying the land or getting a permit. In many other countries, you can do that.
- In much of the states, it is also illegal to camp in non-official campgrounds. You are only technically allowed to camp in designated pay campsites. Not so in most of the world.

Etc.

Here are a few more that someone else added to my list above:

- In America you cannot take a leak against even some remote wall as you will be arrested if seen. In many countries you can.

- Japan has vending machines selling shots of hard liquor. Just like coffee machines. You just pop some money in and the machine pours out a few hundred grams of local whisky into a glass provided by it. Right on the street corner. That would be illegal in the US.

- In many countries you can just bring water skis to the city beach and the boat can come, pick you up and you just take off. In the US, crowds of angry people will gather and curse you.

- In the US you cannot fish without a license even in a small pond on college campus. In many countries no one would pay attention to things like that.

- A Dutchman who is used to being able to buy marijuana at any time, will feel that the US is very repressive when it comes to such things.

- A Kenyan may not criticise his president openly but he can have twelve wives and build a village for his one husband- twelve wife family. In the US, he will be jailed for poligamy-a separate sentence for each wife above one.

True there are freedoms in the US, but they are strictly limited, controlled, and regulated. And yes, under the first amendment, you are free to say you hate the President and the government and not worry about getting imprisoned for it. And I am free to write a booklet like this too, without fear of being arrested. But even those freedoms could melt away someday, for flag burning is being considered for being illegal. As we all know, those in power like to exercise control to stay in power, which is human nature. They only need to maintain the illusion of freedom in this country, to keep the working classes happily enslaved.

But freedom my a**. Rather than being free-spirited, lively and uninhibited like Europe, America is rigid, stiff, closed, and stuck-up in comparison. But of course, you're not supposed to say or think things like that. No way! You're supposed to think and say that America is the land of freedom and opportunity for all! And that everywhere else is worse or inferior. That's what the powers of the US imperial empire WANT and NEED you to think, so that you will work like a happy corporate slave to serve their interests, giving them the best years of your life, promising you the reward of freedom from working ONLY AFTER you retire. (The next section will elaborate more on this.)

So you see, the US is not the freest nation in the world, does not have all the advantages, nor is it the best in every way, as its pro dists proclaim and its citizens think. However, to be fair, one benefit of America, as a reader put it, is that:

â€œHowever, one good thing about America is that while it does not actively teach people to be such "rebels" it allows for that information to exist and you can freely access it at libraries and on the web. So, being brainwashed in the US is a matter of choice, too. You may not follow the mainstream but no one is politically forcing you to do so. You can also leave America any time you want. Other countries may not allow their citizens to leave as freely, plus they will have hard time getting visas to go anywhere as well.â€�

And my cultural consultant emphasized in his advice guide the relative tradeoffs of the types of freedoms each nation provides:

http://forum.internationalliving.com/vi ... .php?t=491
â€œNo place in the world is completely free, however many countries like to advertise themselves as free.
As you travel you will see that usually countries that are not free politically seem to be free on a grass-root level.

Freedoms of people to do business without special permits, to make love and show affection for each other are often in inverse proportion to the political freedoms. Many societies where one is free to practice all kinds of politics and say anything one wants are often regulated on the grass-root level with too many rules and ordinances to control the daily lives of people. So, one country is free in one area but unfree in another and some other country is vice-versa.â€�

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World

In the Netherlands â€“ animals are allowed in restaurants, non-smoking laws in restaurants only came into effect this year. Saunas are coed with nudity mandatory. Drinking beer on the streets is legal. Helmets are not required for bicycle riders.

In America, freedom is thought of in the realm of political freedom. Also, freedom in America is the relative lack of "you must do so and so" although that is being lost in this age of court orders and statutory mandates. But the "you cannot do so and so" nature of American society is stifling, regardless of my political freedom.

Compartmentalization is also responsible for racial segregation as you are supposed to know your place and be with the people from your "compartment". Think of Black ( Protestant)churches/white churches/Korean churches. There are no Black mosques and white mosques and no black/white Catholic churches. So, the powers that rule invent categories that you may loath but must now belong to, even in these compartments are unnatural- Japanese, Koreans and Cambodians are now all Asian and they are supposed to date within their race. Iranians are suddenly not Asian ( say what???) but are Caucasian. Argentines are now dumped in the same group as Mexicans. Try and rebel against that! People born and raised in the US do not know any better but suddenly new people find themselves with a new identity of which they now are supposed to be proud of with new enemies of whom they now must be suspicious.

On the other hand in non Germanic colonies where the general culture is looser and sloppier- there is less racism as people are not so anal about the whole thing. Mingling is many times easier and people just act as people towards each other.

ladislav wrote:
On the other hand in non Germanic colonies where the general culture is looser and sloppier- there is less racism as people are not so anal about the whole thing. Mingling is many times easier and people just act as people towards each other.

I think it's more of an imperial anglo thing rather than a Germanic one. The whole theory behind racism was a pseudoscience invented by mostly 18th century anglo colonialists who needed a way to justify subjugation of entire colonies. After the age of enlightenment and right up past the Victorian era there were a lot of theories regarding eugenics and race which were just an excuse to reinforce social class.

Germanic people were mostly known for being extreme nationalists with the exception of guys like Hitler who adopted anglo racial overtones to his political fascist theories.

America is becoming less and less free every day. People are deluded into believing this country is the freest country in the world. The fact is that's not the case. Our media is controlled by big corporations with their own agendas. We have the largest prison population and the largest number of gangs in the world. The Patriot Act takes away our freedoms while our government can ease-drop on your conversations without a warrant. Illegal aliens have more rights than native born citizens in this country, which isn't right. The police are overaggressive and can arrest you for some stupid minor misdemeanor charges. You can't do anything anymore without the threat of imprisonment or some kind of government bureaucrat breathing down your throat. I'm sick and tired of it. We should be legalizing a lot of things right now: legalizing pot, prostitution, gay marriage. Marijuana should be legalized in this country. It could help a lot of sick people suffering from all kinds of ailments,yet you can be put in jail for months just for carrying small amounts of pot. At least I'm glad to see Europeans agree with my point of view about things.

- In America you cannot take a leak against even some remote wall as you will be arrested if seen. In many countries you can.

- Japan has vending machines selling shots of hard liquor. Just like coffee machines. You just pop some money in and the machine pours out a few hundred grams of local whisky into a glass provided by it. Right on the street corner. That would be illegal in the US.

- In many countries you can just bring water skis to the city beach and the boat can come, pick you up and you just take off. In the US, crowds of angry people will gather and curse you.

- In the US you cannot fish without a license even in a small pond on college campus. In many countries no one would pay attention to things like that.

- A Dutchman who is used to being able to buy marijuana at any time, will feel that the US is very repressive when it comes to such things.

- A Kenyan may not criticise his president openly but he can have twelve wives and build a village for his one husband- twelve wife family. In the US, he will be jailed for poligamy-a separate sentence for each wife above one.

In the US, if you are single and go to a carnival/county fair, you are banned from certain rides. Chance Rides, Inc appears on a mission to isolate and alienate all singles from society with their ludicrous "No Single Riders" policies, especially for high popularity rides such as the Zipper.

Last edited by traveller on December 9th, 2015, 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

zboy1 wrote: The police are overaggressive and can arrest you for some stupid minor misdemeanor charges. You can't do anything anymore without the threat of imprisonment or some kind of government bureaucrat breathing down your throat. I'm sick and tired of it. We should be legalizing a lot of things right now: legalizing pot, prostitution, gay marriage. Marijuana should be legalized in this country. It could help a lot of sick people suffering from all kinds of ailments,yet you can be put in jail for months just for carrying small amounts of pot. At least I'm glad to see Europeans agree with my point of view about things.

American police also can and will use immediate deadly force on you without warning for even a misunderstanding, even if they know you are unarmed, and they will use deadly force on you as if you were even caught trying to burglarize Area 51. American police have also become much more militarized in recent years. Protests against police brutality today do nothing other than cause a full declaration of Martial law and a full military lockdown for the entire city, tow, or village where the incident of police brutality took place. My predictions are, one of these days, American law enforcement will figure to end a protest by showering it with a bunch of air-to-surface missiles, quickly reducing it to a field of blood puddles and shredded human flesh.

Straight dating and marriage are criminalized under Federal law and made punishable by even 100 years to life in Federal prison for all involved.

Interactions with strangers also becomes criminalized under Federal law and made punishable by even 100 years to life in Federal prison for all involved.

Approaching single within less than even 3 miles of a bar, nightclub, strip club, concert, beach, amusement park, county fair, or any assembly of persons is criminalized under Federal law and made punishable by even 100 years to life in Federal prison.

And even worse, new Federal laws get passed mandating an immediate division of the country by gender, men on one side, women on the other side, a 300 mile wide military zone in between, and absolutely no mingling of the genders allowed.

Even today, American police are known to tell even adults; "do not get friendly with people you don't know, pretend you are in New York, brush them off." Like, American police really may as well just tell them; "It is a Felony under Federal law to get friendly with people you don't know. Such behaviors under Federal law carry a sentence of up to 100 years to life in Federal prison for all involved."